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December 2017

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With Karnataka's sericulture farmers facing difficulties following a reduction in import duty on silk, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has invited Karnataka's Sericulture Minister A. Manju and Mysuru MP, Pratap Simha to New Delhi to discuss their demand for increasing import duty, according to a media report.

The minister assured Karnataka's sericulture farmers of all possible help, but said that since import duty comes under the Commerce Ministry, there was a need to discuss the matter with it.

Until a few years ago, import duty on raw silk was around 30 per cent. In the last Union Budget, it was slashed from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. This decrease brought down the price of Chinese silk, which in turn led to a decline in price of cocoons reared in Karnataka, Gangwar was informed during the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Mega Silk Cluster in Mysuru, the first of its kind in the country.

Gangwar also inaugurated a national workshop on 'Innovative Technologies and Best Practices in Sericulture' at Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSR&TI) in Mysuru. He felicitated a total of 54 farmers from 27 States for their “outstanding performance” in sericulture.

While Manju complained about the price volatility of cocoons and silk in Karnataka and urged the Centre to raise duty on imported silk to protect the interests of farmers in Karnataka, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha sought Gangwar's help in facilitating the tobacco farmers in the region take up sericulture. (SH)